Dispenser



Feb. 16, 1943. 5, E. COLBURN DISPENSER Filed March 9, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 [5647f (/bzava Feb. 16, 1943. COLBURN 2,311,521

DISPENSER Filed March 9, 1942' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 16, 1943 UNITED STATES E ATENT OFFICE DISPENSER Bearl E. Colburn, Green Bay, Wis.

Application March 9, 1942, Serial No. 433,904

5 Claims.

The invention relates to improvements in dispensers, especially adapted to dispensing paper toweling and has for its primary object the provision of an improved device of this character which is of simple construction and highly efficient in use.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a device of the character indicated having improved mechanism for limiting the amount of toweling which can be withdrawn therefrom in a single operation.

Another object of the invention is the provision of improved means for guiding and directing a section of toweling for withdrawal therefrom.

Another object of the invention is the provision of improved means for detaching a section of toweling therefrom.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists of the combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which Fig. 1 is a face view, with the cover raised, of a dispenser embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of the same;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the parts in an intermediate position of operation; and

Fig. 5 is a detailed view illustrating the specific form and arrangement of a cam bar and lever stop arm employed in the device.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings comprises a suitable cabinet or casing provided in its inner wall with key hole slots I l by means of which the same may be conveniently hung or supported on a wall or similar flat vertical surface; said cabinet being provided with an upwardly opening front door or cover I2 giving access to the interior thereof. The door i2 is provided with a suitable lock l3 for lockin the cabinet against tampering.

A roll of paper I4 is rotatably mounted between two vertical supporting plates l and I5 and a friction spring I6 is arranged to contact with the periphery of said roll to prevent over-running or spinning thereof.

A feed roller I1 is mounted as indicated in the lower portion of the cabinet l0 and provided with a plurality of annular grooves I8 and a crank handle 19 for manipulating the same. A guide plate 20 is arranged as indicated below the roller 11 and provided with a plurality of corresponding stripper fingers projecting as indicated into the grooves l8. Another and similar roller I1 is mounted upon trunnions 23 with its ends 22 adjacent plates l5 and [5' to cooperate with the roller ll, springs 24 being connected with said trunnions to yieldingly press the roller ll toward contact with the periphery of roller I! which is preferably covered with sand paper to increase the roughness thereof. The end 25 of the strip of paper from the roll M is passed around the roller I1 and between it and the roller l1, then around the roller I! and out through a discharge opening 26 in the bottom of the cabinet [0. A guide plate 21 is arranged as shown around the upper and rear position of the roller H to guide the strip end 25 around the latter roll and out through said opening 26, the guide 2!), and stripper finger 2| cooperating in such guiding, the stripper fingers 2| also serving to release the strip 25 from the periphery of roller ll. Serrated tear off blade 28 is arranged on one side of the opening 26 and another serrated tear off blade 29 is arranged on the other side thereof sothat the protruding end of the strip 25 may be readily torn off and removed by a tearing motion in either direction as desired.

The shaft or trunnion 30 of the roller I1 is extended through the supporting plate 15 and carries a pinion 3i meshing with an idler gear 32 which is twice its size and is mounted to rotate freely on a stud shaft 33. The idler gear 32 has on its outer face a radially extending cam bar 34 which cooperates with the arms 35 and 36 of a U-shaped lever pivoted at 31 to oscillate across the outer face of the idler gear 32. The end 31' of the lever arm 36 is beveled as shown in Fig. 5 and the cooperating side 34 of the cam bar 34 is similarly beveled to prevent the arm 36 from slipping off of the cam bar 34 during operation of the device. As will be noted the lever arm 35 is considerably longer than the arm 36 and is pivotally connected at its end with an L-shaped link 38 operatively connected at its upper end with a piston rod 39 of a dash pot 40 equipped with an adjusting screw 4| for regulating the action of the dash pot 40 in the usual way which will be readily understood. A tension spring 42 is connected as shown with the linlc 38 to draw the same downwardly. A gravity held pawl 33 cooperates with the idler gear 32 to effect a pawl and ratchet arrangement to prevent reverse rotation or operation of the parts.

In use and in operation, when it is desired to withdraw a section of toweling from the cabinet Ill, the crank arm 19 is rotated to cause the roller I! to feed a section of the toweling 25 downwardly through the opening 26. After two complete rotations of the crank arm I 9 the shorter lever arm 36 will engage the side of the cam bar 34 as indicated by the dotted line in Fig. 3 to stop further operation of said crank arm and thus further withdrawal of paper from the cabinet to prevent undue use or wastage thereof. This stop action of the arm 36 results from the combined action of the cam bar 34 and the dash pot 40 due to the fact that as the cam bar 34 revolves it engages the lever arm 35 and raises it into the position shown in Fig. 4 and in which position the dash pot 40 momentarily holds said arm 35 while cam bar 34 continues its revolution. Such elevation of lever arm 35, correspondingly elevates lever arm 36 into the position shown in Fig. 4, in which position the end thereof lies in the path of the cam bar 34 so that the continued motion of said cam bar will bring it into contact with the end of lever arm 36 while still elevated, thus eiTectively interrupting the operation of crank arm 19 and temporarily preventing further withdrawal of the paper strip. However, the action of spring 42 and the Weight of the parts is such as to draw the link 38 slowly downwardly against the resistance of the dash pot 46 and thus after the lapse of a predetermined time, carries the end of the lever arm 36 downwardly beyond the path of the cam bar 34 into the position shown in Fig. 3, which is the normal position of rest of the parts. This downward withdrawal of the lever arm 36 frees the cam bar 34 and the other parts of the device for further withdrawal of toweling after the lapse of a predetermined time. Obviously, by means of the adjusting screw 4!, this lapse of time which must ensue before another section of toweling can be withdrawn, can be adjusted as desired. Thus a single section of toweling may be readily withdrawn for use as and when desired but a predetermined time must elapse befor another section can be withdrawn, thus preventing children and others from undue or malicious use of the toweling. The bevel 31' on the end of the arm 36 cooperating with the bevel 34 on the side of the cam bar 34 prevents the lever arm 36 from slipping off of the cam bar under the influence of undue force during operation or malicious manipulation thereof. The specific form and arrangement of parts is a simple and effective one for the purpose.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form of construction for carrying the invention into effect, this is capable of variation and modification without departing from the spirit of the invention. I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details disclosed, but desire to avail myself of such variations and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A construction of the class described comprising a cabinet; a roll of paper mounted in said cabinet; feed rollers arranged to deliver a section of a strip of paper from said roll; crank arm for operating one of said rollers to withdraw said section from said roll and deliver the same from said cabinet; a gear operatively connected with said driven roller; a gravity held pawl cooperating with said gear to prevent reverse movements of said roller; a radially extending elongated combined cam and stop bar secured to a face of said gear; U-shaped lever pivotally mounted adjacent said gear with its arms extending across the face thereof to embrace said cam bar, one of said arms being longer than the other to contact with the end of said cam bar to be oscillated thereby, the other arm of said lever being shorter and arranged to contact with the side of said cam bar to stop rotation of said gear; a spring normally holding said lever in its position of rest; and a dash pot operatively connected with said lever and arranged to retard the return of said lever to its normal position of rest.

2. A construction of the class described comprising strip delivery mechanism arranged to deliver a section of a strip for removal therefrom; a rotating member operatively connected therewith to be actuated automatically upon such delivery; a lever arranged to oscillate across a face of said member and having two arms; a combined cam and stop on said face of said member cooperating with one of said arms to oscillate the lever, and with the other of said arms to stop said member and delivery mechanism; yieldable means for returning said lever to mechanism stopping position; and timing means retarding said return of said lever.

3. The construction specified in claim 2 in which the oscillating lever is substantially U- shaped.

4. The construction specified in claim 2 in which the cam and stop consists of a radially extending bar.

5. The construction specified in claim 2 in which the oscillating lever is substantially -U- shaped with one arm longer than the other; the cam and step consists of a radially extending bar arranged with its end serving as a cam to contact the longer arm to oscillate said lever and its side engaging the end of the shorter arm to stop the delivery mechanism; a spring is employed as the means for returning the lever to mechanism stopping position; and a dash pot is employed as the timing means.

BEARL E. COLBURN. 

